“My friend Jayne Segedy ’13 and I mutually decided that Arlene was one of the best teachers in the country and that we ought to nominate her.” So explains Valerie Peters ’10, a music education alumna who nominated Murkland lecturer and pianist Arlene Kies for the Kennedy Center Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award, a national award for teachers who have had an extraordinary impact on students. Kies was notified earlier this month that she is one of thirteen educators to receive a 2015 award.